Celebrating the Release of “A Darker Slice of Life” – Author Interview

I am so exited about the release of my new book “A Darker Slice of Life”, and wanted to share with you the Smashwords’ Author Interview today.

SW: When did you first start writing?

I began writing relatively early in life, first re-writing my favorite novels into scripts at 11, than writing for screenplays for our drama club.Since then, I have been writing in both English and German, for my blogs, various publications as well as for my personal pleasure.

SW: What is the story behind your latest book release?

I began to write flash fiction as a form of personal challenge. I wanted to see if I could write a complete story within such a small space, and to my surprise I fell in love with this format. While I do still and always will enjoy the freedom to write longer stories and novels, I find the shortness of Flash Fiction freeing, and a wonderful exercise crafting a theme down to its essence.. It never stops to amaze me to read the depth of stories written in such small space.

SW: What motivated you to become an indie author?

One of the most important lessons I learned as a writer, is to know when to let go off a project. It was important for me to move from holding on to the stories I love, to sharing them with its intended audience. Being able to use smashwords as a vehicle to do so, was a freeing experience. While I am not against working with agents and publishing houses – to the contrary – I consider it a privilege to be a part of a growing community of Authors who considered the freedom of indie publishing as their home.

SW: What are you working on next?

My next projects are two of completely different format and subject matter. The first project is a horror script focusing on psychological terror rather than the gory kind, and a the stand alone novel I am currently working on is called “The Farm”, and is a paranormal suspense romance.

SW: Who are your favorite authors?

My favorite authors are Heather Graham, Kay Hooper, Dean Koontz, and Neil Gaiman. I am hooked on Kay’s paranormal series, which center around an FBI Unit with special abilities.

SW: When you’re not writing, how do you spend your time?

When I am not writing, I am assisting my husband with running our growing business, as well as homeschooling our children. Of course, I can not forget to mention the rescued members of the household, two wonderful dogs, and a very patient cat.

( A Darker Slice of Life is available on Smashwords for only 99 cents! Buy it here now!)

Book Review: Short Story Masterpieces by American Women Writers

Book Title: Short Story Masterpieces by American Women Writers
Publisher: Dover Publications
Editor: Clarence C. Strowbridge
Release Date: Feb. 20th 2014
Rating: 3.5/5

When approaching short story collections, I usually look for a compelling theme, something that ties them together. Here the only thing that ties these stories together is, that they are written by women. Culturally and stylishly the individual stories have nothing in common, having a female as their lead in not enough to create a common thread.
Individually speaking, some of these stories are riveting, others are simply included because they were written by women, it seemed, neither fitting in quality nor style into the rest of the collection. I am usually a fan of short fiction, flash or conventional, but it does take the skill to cut the necessary, bring a story to its bare bones, not leave (as some stories in this volume), leave the meat, but loose some of the structure.
Individually these authors, I am sure are interesting, and I will take the time to find more works from them, especially Joyce Carol Oates, who with “Heat” is the best story of the collection.
If you are interested in short stories, there are better collections out there. But there are also worse.